ANNVILLE, Pa. ­­– The Lebanon Valley College baseball team delivered an excellent day in the batter's box during its home opener and first Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom action, crossing the plate 34 times during a doubleheader sweep of King's College on Saturday, March 14, at McGill Field. LVC won the first matchup 19-8 before taking the second game by a score of 15-0 in seven innings.

Game One
The Dutchmen (4-6, 1-0 MAC Freedom) opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning, taking an early 5-0 lead over the Monarchs (3-5, 0-1 MAC Freedom). The club struck first when Kody Phillips hit an RBI double to right-center field, plating Owen Berry. This was followed by Kenny Palmieri reaching base on a fielding error by the second baseman, which brought home Spencer Butz. Devin Kreger then reached on a throwing error by the shortstop, which scored Phillips. Dylan Mennillo later came through with a two-run single through the left side, knocking in Palmieri. Berry then pitched a shutout frame for LVC in the top of the second, notching the final two outs with a double play.

King's got on the board in the top of the third inning, narrowing the score to 5-3 in a frame that included two RBI singles and an RBI double. The Monarchs then added two runs in the top of the fourth on an RBI double and an RBI groundout, tying the contest at 5-5. The Flying Dutchmen answered back with four runs in the bottom of the fourth, taking a 9-5 advantage. Lucien Burger logged an RBI groundout to first base, which scored John Teehan. Palmieri later hit an RBI double to right-center field, driving in Berry. Kreger followed this with a two-run single to left field, knocking in Phillips and Palmieri.

Parker Raham tossed a scoreless top of the fifth inning for Lebanon Valley, getting out of the frame with a lineout to Teehan at shortstop to strand a runner at third base. The Dutchmen then tacked on four more runs in the bottom of the fifth, claiming a 13-5 lead. Berry got things started with an RBI double to left-center field, bringing home Teehan. Burger then delivered an RBI double, plating Berry. Phillips followed this with a two-run single to left-center field, driving in Butz and Burger.

King's countered with an RBI single in the top of the sixth inning, trimming its deficit to 13-6. The Flying Dutchmen responded with six more runs in the bottom of the sixth, going up 19-6. Butz began the big frame with an RBI double to right field, scoring Berry. Butz later crossed the dish on a wild pitch, before Palmieri hit an RBI double to right-center field to drive in Matthew Kendall. Daniel Palmieri was later hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, bringing in Phillips. Will Plappert also tallied an RBI groundout to third base, plating Kenny Palmieri. Teehan capped off the inning with a sacrifice fly to left field, knocking in Parker Tarnoci.

The Monarchs scored twice in top of the seventh on a pair of walks with the bases full, making it a 19-8 game. Reliever Chris Langsdorf then got a batter to fly out to Kenny Palmieri in right field, securing Lebanon Valley's first victory of the day.

Inside the Box Score

• Phillips recorded two hits, three RBIs, three runs scored, and a walk. The sophomore matched a game-high in RBIs.
• Kenny Palmieri tied a game-high three hits, matched a career-high three runs scored, and drove in a season-high two runs. The senior stole a base as well.
• Burger matched a game-high and set a season-high with three hits, while tallying two RBIs and a run scored.
• Berry tied game-highs with three hits and four runs scored, while setting a game-high with two doubles. The senior also drove in a run and drew a walk. Additionally, Berry tied career-highs in runs scored and doubles.
• Teehan tied a season-high two hits and a season-high two runs scored, while driving in a run and stealing a base.
• Butz hit a double, knocked in a run, and scored three times.
• Daniel Palmieri had an RBI, tied a season-high two walks, and stole a base.
• Kreger had a hit, two RBIs, and a run scored.
• Mennillo logged a base hit, a walk, a season-high two RBIs, and a stolen base.
• Plappert drove in a run.
• Kendall stole a base and scored a run.
• Tarnoci walked and crossed the plate once.
• Lebanon Valley outhit King's 16-9, including a season-high seven doubles.
• LVC tallied six walks and five hit-by-pitches.
• Raham earned the win by striking out a career-high three batters in three innings on the mound, improving his record to 2-0 this season.
• Langsdorf tallied a strikeout.

Game Two
Starting pitcher Landon Sexton began the contest with a scoreless top of the first inning for Lebanon Valley (5-6, 2-0 MAC Freedom), picking up two strikeouts. The Dutchmen then opened the scoring in the bottom half of the first, taking an early 3-0 lead. The program struck first on an RBI double by Burger, which plated Berry. Phillips followed this with an RBI double, driving in Burger. Kreger then came through with an RBI double as well, bringing home Phillips.

Sexton also blanked King's (3-6, 0-2 MAC Freedom) in the top of the second, notching the first and third outs with strikeouts. The Flying Dutchmen crossed the plate four more times in the bottom of the second, taking a 7-0 advantage. Butz was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, bringing in Joey Santora. Phillips later came through with a sacrifice fly to center field, knocking in Mennillo. Kreger then delivered a two-run single to left field, scoring Berry and Luca Santoro. Sexton followed this with a shutout frame in the top of the third inning, registering the final two outs with a double play.

Sexton continued his dominant start for LVC in the top of the fourth, tallying another strikeout. Lebanon Valley also kept producing in the batter's box in the bottom of the fourth, going ahead 9-0. Phillips got things started with an RBI double to left-center field, driving in Burger. Santora was later hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, which brought home Phillips. In the top of the fifth inning, Sexton posted another zero for the Flying Dutchmen with three more strikeouts. The Dutchmen added a pair of runs in the bottom half of the fifth inning, taking an 11-0 lead. Phillips hit another RBI double to left-center field, driving in Burger. Daniel Palmieri later lined an RBI single to center field, plating Phillips.

Sexton finished his excellent start on the mound with a scoreless top of the sixth for LVC, notching the final two outs with a double play. In the bottom of the sixth, Lebanon Valley scored four more times to go up 15-0. Burger got things started with a sacrifice fly to the shortstop in shallow left-center field, and Berry hustled home to score. Kreger then launched a three-run home run to left field, bringing in Jacob Williams and Phillips. Trey Dianna followed this by pitching a scoreless top of the seventh inning for LVC, which would be the final frame of the contest. The junior sealed the program's win with a strikeout looking.

Inside the Box Score

• Kreger delivered a game-high and career-high six RBIs, while tying a game-high and setting a career-high with four hits. The junior hit LVC's first home run of the season while also tying a game-high and career-high two stolen bases. Additionally, Kreger walked once and scored a run.
• Phillips tied game-highs and set career-highs with four hits and four runs scored, while setting a career-high with four RBIs. The sophomore also had a game-high and career-high three doubles.
• Sexton improved his record to 2-0 by striking out a game-high and career-high nine batters in six scoreless innings.
• Burger logged two hits, two RBIs, a season-high three runs scored and a walk.
• Berry scored three runs while tying a game-high and setting a season-high with two walks. The senior also matched a game-high and set a season-high with two stolen bases.
• Williams tied a season-high two hits, scored a run, and stole a base.
• Daniel Palmieri had a hit, an RBI, and a stolen base.
• Santora registered an RBI and a run scored.
• Mennillo came through with a hit and a run scored.
• Butz tallied an RBI.
• Santoro scored his first career run and stole his first career base.
• The Dutchmen outhit the Monarchs 14-2.
• LVC registered six walks and six hit-by-pitches.
• Dianna tallied two strikeouts in a scoreless frame of relief.

Up Next
Lebanon Valley will close out the series against King's tomorrow, Sunday, March 15, at 1 p.m., at Lipo Field in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

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